The Segrave Trophy is awarded to the British national who demonstrates "Outstanding Skill, Courage and Initiative on Land, Water and in the Air".[1] The trophy is named in honour of Sir Henry Segrave, the first person to hold both the land and water speed records simultaneously.[1] The award was established by Segrave's wife, Lady Doris, who was "determined to carry on his legacy".[2][3] The trophy, designed by sculptor Gilbert Bayes,[4] is awarded by the Royal Automobile Club. It has been awarded in most years since 1930;[5] it is not presented if, in the opinion of the committee, no achievement has been sufficient to deserve the award.[6] Past sponsors of the trophy include Castrol, Ford Motor Company and Aston Martin.[6][7]
| Segrave Trophy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Awarded for | "Outstanding Skill, Courage and Initiative on Land, Water and in the Air: the Spirit of Adventure".[1] |
| Presented by | Royal Automobile Club |
| First awarded | 1930 |
| Currently held by | Zara & Mack Rutherford (July 2023) |
| Website | Official website |
The inaugural recipient of the Segrave Trophy was Australian-born Charles Kingsford Smith who flew solo from Ireland to Newfoundland, across the Atlantic, in just over 31 hours.[8] He also won the 1930 England to Australia air race, covering the distance solo in 13 days.[8] British aviator Amy Johnson became the first female recipient of the trophy in 1932 when she was cited for her flight from London to Cape Town in a de Havilland Puss Moth.[5] Since then, just four other women have won the award: Jean Batten (1936) for her solo 11-day flight from England to New Zealand, Fiona Gore (1980) for travelling in excess of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) on water, Eve Jackson (1987) for her solo microlight flight from London to Sydney, and Louise Aitken-Walker (1990) for her victory in the short-lived World Rally Championship Ladies Cup.[5] The Segrave Trophy has been presented posthumously on four occasions, to Geoffrey de Havilland Jr. (1946), Donald Campbell (1966), Bruce McLaren (1969) and Joey Dunlop (2000).[5] The 2018 winner of the Segrave Trophy was the double amputee driver Billy Monger, who at the age of 20, is the youngest recipient of the award.[9]
A subsidiary award, the Segrave Medal, may also be given to those individuals who have "played a fundamental role in helping the Segrave Trophy winner to achieve their goal".[10] Peter Du Cane received the medal in 1939 for the design and construction of Blue Bird K4. Bruce McLaren's teammate Denny Hulme and their chief mechanic Cary Taylor won the medal in 1969, their team having won every race of the 1969 Can-Am season.[11] In 1993, the car designer Eric Broadley was presented with the Segrave Medal for his work with Lola Cars. Mark Wilkinson received the medal in 2001 as co-pilot to trophy winner Tim Ellison, and Lady Moss, Stirling Moss's wife, won it in 2005 for her support of her husband.[5] Audi's Wolfgang Ullrich, Tom Kristensen and Loïc Duval received the medal in 2013.[10] Carlin founder Trevor Carlin won the Segrave Medal in 2018 for helping Monger return to motor racing.[9] Additionally, the Segrave Certificate of Achievement may be awarded to a person who is not a British national, but would otherwise qualify for recognition. It has been presented just once, in 2002, to Bjørn Rune Gjelsten who was throttleman for powerboat racer Steve Curtis.[5]
List of recipients
| † | Indicates posthumous award |
|---|---|
| ‡ | Indicates Segrave Medal was awarded that year |
| ↑ | Indicates Segrave Certificate of Achievement was awarded that year |
| Year | Image | Recipient | Nationality | Citation[5] | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 |  | Charles Kingsford Smith |  AUS | "For his east-west solo air crossing of the Atlantic from Ireland to Newfoundland in 31½ hours, and victory in 13 days, also solo, in the England to Australia Air Race, in the Southern Cross." | [8][12] |
| 1931 |  | Bert Hinkler | AUS | "For his solo flight in a de Havilland Puss Moth from Canada to London by the least direct route imaginable." | [13] |
| 1932 | Amy Johnson |  GBR | "For her record-breaking flight in a de Havilland Puss Moth from London to Cape Town." | [14] | |
| 1933 |  | Malcolm Campbell | GBR | "For raising the Land Speed Record to 272.11 miles per hour (437.92 km/h) in Blue Bird." | [15] |
| 1934 | _(Waller_crop).jpg) | Ken Waller | GBR | "For his 4,000-mile (6,400 km) flight from Belgium to what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and back in a de Havilland DH.88 Comet, taking just 3,439 minutes." | [16] |
| 1935 |  | George Eyston | GBR | "For the land speed records over 1 hour, 12 hours and 24 hours, including an average of 140.52 miles per hour (226.15 km/h) over 24 hours of driving in Speed of the Wind." | [17] |
| 1936 |  | Jean Batten |  NZL | "For her record-breaking solo flight in a Percival Gull from England to Auckland, taking 11 days and 45 minutes." | [18] |
| 1937 |  | A.E. Clouston | GBR | "For his flight with Betty Kirby-Green in a de Havilland DH.88 Comet from Croydon to Cape Town and back in a flight time of 77 hours and 49 minutes." | [19] |
| 1938 |  | A. T. Goldie Gardner | GBR | "For attaining the class G land speed record of 186.6 miles per hour (300.3 km/h) in a 1100cc MG Magnette on the German autobahn." | [20] |
| 1939 ‡ | | Malcolm Campbell | GBR | "For setting the new water speed record of 141.74 miles per hour (228.11 km/h) at Coniston Water in Blue Bird K4." | [21] |
| 1940 | No award due to the Second World War | [5] | |||
| 1941 | |||||
| 1942 | |||||
| 1943 | |||||
| 1944 | |||||
| 1945 | |||||
| 1946 |  | Geoffrey de Havilland Jr. † | GBR | "Awarded posthumously for his contribution to British aviation as a test pilot developing aircraft such as the de Havilland Mosquito, the Hornet and the Vampire." | [22] |
| 1947 | .jpg) | John Cobb | GBR | "For raising the land speed record to 394.19 miles per hour (634.39 km/h) in the Railton Mobil Special." | [23] |
| 1948 |  | John Derry | GBR | "For breaking the 100 km closed circuit aeroplane record at Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Flying a de Havilland DH 108 he reached a speed of 605.23 mph (973.8 km/h)." | [24] |
| 1949 | No award | [5][25] | |||
| 1950 | |||||
| 1951 | .jpg) | Geoff Duke | GBR | "For winning the 350cc and 500cc Motorcycle World Championships and both the junior and senior Tourist Trophy races in the same year." | [26] |
| 1952 | No award | [5] | |||
| 1953 | .jpg) | Neville Duke | GBR | "For setting a new air speed record of 727.63 miles per hour (1,171.01 km/h) in a Hawker Hunter over Littlehampton." | [22] |
| 1954 | No award | [5] | |||
| 1955 | Donald Campbell | GBR | "For setting a new water speed record of 202.15 miles per hour (325.33 km/h) on Ullswater in Bluebird K7." | [27] | |
| 1956 |  | Peter Twiss | GBR | "For setting a new air speed record of 1,132 miles per hour (1,822 km/h) and becoming the first person to break 1,000 miles per hour (1,600 km/h) in level flight, in a Fairey Delta 2 (pictured)." | [28] |
| 1957 |  | Stirling Moss | GBR | "For winning three Grands Prix with Vanwall and breaking five class speed records." | [15] |
| 1958 | Donald Campbell | GBR | "For raising the water speed record to 260 miles per hour (420 km/h) on Lake Coniston in Bluebird K7." | [29] | |
| 1959 | No award | [5] | |||
| 1960 | .jpg) | Tom Brooke-Smith | GBR | "For attaining vertical flight and hovering stationary in the air in an SC 1 VTOL aircraft (pictured)." | [30] |
| 1961 | No award | [5] | |||
| 1962 |  | Bill Bedford | GBR | "For completing the first vertical landing by a fixed-wing aircraft on an aircraft carrier, landing a Hawker P-1127 on HMS Ark Royal." | [31] |
| 1963 | No award | [5] | |||
| 1964 | Donald Campbell | GBR | "For becoming the first person since his father to achieve "the double" of raising the water speed record to 276.33 miles per hour (444.71 km/h) in Bluebird K7 on Lake Dumbleyung, Australia, and taking the land speed record to 429 miles per hour (690 km/h) at Lake Eyre in Bluebird CN7." | [15] | |
| 1965 | No award | [5] | |||
| 1966 | Donald Campbell † | GBR | "Awarded posthumously for outstanding contribution to mechanical development and aerodynamics." | [32] | |
| 1967 | No award | [5] | |||
| 1968 |  | Ken Wallis | GBR | "For his development and airmanship in the field of lightweight autogyro aircraft, and attaining multiple world records." | [5] |
| 1969 ‡ |  | Bruce McLaren † | NZL | "Awarded posthumously for the design, development and driving of cars that won every round of the 1969 Can-Am Championship." | [11] |
| 1970 |  | Brian Trubshaw | GBR | "For his work in developing and successfully piloting the prototype Concorde supersonic airliner (pictured in 1977), including her first supersonic flight over land." | [33] |
| 1971 | No award | [5] | |||
| 1972 | |||||
| 1973 |  | Jackie Stewart | GBR | "For winning his third Formula One World Championship in five seasons with a British team, and becoming the most successful Grand Prix driver in history." | [34] |
| 1974 | – | John Blashford-Snell | GBR | "For leading the first Zaire River exploration ever to be completed." | [35] |
| 1975 | .jpg) | Roger Clark & Stuart Turner, Jim Porter, Peter Ashworth and Tony Mason | GBR | "For the success of Ford Motor Company in the British Rally Championship." | [36] |
| 1976 ‡ |  | Peter Collins | GBR | "For winning the World Speedway Championship on a British Weslake engine." | [37] |
| 1977 |  | Barry Sheene | GBR | "For retaining the 500cc Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship." | [37] |
| 1978 |  | John Cunningham | GBR | "For his 40-year career as chief test pilot at de Havilland and later British Aerospace, including wartime service as a night-fighter pilot, scoring 20 aerial victories in the defence of Britain at the height of the Blitz." | [5] |
| 1979 |  | Mike Hailwood | GBR | "For his long career in motorcycle Grand Prix racing, Formula One and his successes in the Isle of Man TT, including his last, in 1979, at the age of 39, following a successful comeback to the event after an 11-year hiatus." | [38] |
| 1980 | – | Fiona Gore | GBR | "For becoming the first woman to achieve more than 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) on water by reaching 102 miles per hour (164 km/h) on Lake Windermere." | [39] |
| 1981 | No award | [5] | |||
| 1982 | .jpg) | Sandy Woodward | GBR | "For his captaincy of flagship HMS Hermes on behalf of all who fought for the liberation of the Falkland Islands." | [5] |
| 1983 | .jpg) | Richard Noble | GBR | "For raising the land speed record to 633.468 miles per hour (1,019.468 km/h) at Black Rock Desert, Nevada, in Thrust 2." | [15] |
| 1984 | | Barry Sheene | GBR | "For his career in motorcycle Grand Prix racing, including being the only man to win World Championship events at all capacities from 50cc to 500cc." | [40] |
| 1985 | | Ken Wallis | GBR | "For his lifetime of achievement in aviation, including a multitude of world records for altitude, speed and range in autogyro aircraft." | [41] |
| 1986 | .jpg) | Richard Branson | GBR | "For the development of the Virgin Atlantic Challenger and his effort to break the Blue Riband record crossing of the Atlantic in a sailing boat." | [42] |
| 1987 | – | Eve Jackson | GBR | "For her solo flight from London to Sydney in the microlight Shadow." | [43] |
| 1988 |  | Martin Brundle | GBR | "For winning the FIA Sportscar World Championship with Jaguar." | [36] |
| 1989 |  | Bob Ives and Joe Ives | GBR | "For victory in the off-road marathon the Camel Trophy, with its 1,062-mile (1,709 km) route through the Brazilian rainforest from Alta Floresta to Manaus." | [44] |
| 1990 | – | Louise Aitken-Walker | GBR | "For winning the Ladies' World Rally Championship title with Vauxhall." | [45] |
| 1991 | – | Steve Webster | GBR | "For winning his fourth FIM World Sidecar Championship title." | [40] |
| 1992 |  | Frank Williams and Nigel Mansell | GBR | "For victory in the 1992 FIA Formula One World Championship for constructors (Williams) and drivers (Mansell) (pictured in the Williams F1 in Canada in 1988)." | [36] |
| 1993 ‡ |  | Nigel Mansell | GBR | "For winning the CART IndyCar World Championship in America (pictured in the Lola T93/00 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course) at the first attempt." | [5] |
| 1994 |  | Carl Fogarty | GBR | "For winning the Superbike World Championship with Ducati." | [34] |
| 1995 |  | Colin McRae | GBR | "For becoming the first British driver to win the FIA World Rally Championship with Subaru." | [36] |
| 1996 |  | Damon Hill | GBR | "For becoming the FIA Formula One world champion and, in so doing, becoming the first son of a former champion to claim the title." | [36] |
| 1997 |  | Andy Green | GBR | "For raising the land speed record to 763.065 miles per hour (1,228.034 km/h) at Black Rock, Nevada, in ThrustSSC (pictured) – becoming the first person to break the sound barrier on land." | [15] |
| 1998 |  | Brian Milton | GBR | "For becoming the first person to circumnavigate the world in a microlight." | [46] |
| 1999 | | Jackie Stewart | GBR | "For lifetime services to motor sport." | [5] |
| 2000 |  | Joey Dunlop † | GBR | "Awarded posthumously in recognition of a career of unrivalled achievement in the Isle of Man TT." | [40] |
| 2001 ‡ | – | Tim Ellison | GBR | "For the first circumnavigation flight by a disabled pilot." | [5] |
| 2002 ↑ |  | Steve Curtis | GBR | "For winning as driver in the World, European and Pole Position championships in offshore powerboat racing (Spirit of Norway powerboat pictured)." | [15] |
| 2003 | – | Brian Lecomber | GBR | "For his career of more than 20 years as a leading airshow pilot, and journalist and communicator on aerobatics and record breaking." | [47] |
| 2004 | No award | [5] | |||
| 2005 ‡ | | Stirling Moss | GBR | "For his lifetime of achievement in all forms of motor sport, and his service to the sports." | [5] |
| 2006 | No award | [5] | |||
| 2007 |  | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | "For unprecedented achievements in his debut season in the FIA Formula One World Championship." | [5] |
| 2008 |  | Allan McNish | GBR | "For exceptional endeavour in motor sport." | [48] |
| 2009 |  | Paul Bonhomme | GBR | "As Britain's first champion in the Red Bull Air Race." | [15] |
| 2010 |  | Adrian Newey | GBR | "For winning Formula One drivers' and constructors' World Championships with three teams: Williams-Renault, McLaren-Mercedes and Red Bull-Renault." | [49] |
| 2011 | – | Dave Sykes | GBR | "For being the first paraplegic pilot to fly from York to Sydney in a microlight aircraft, completing the journey in 257 hours." | [50] |
| 2012 |  | John Surtees | GBR | "For his outstanding career in two- and four-wheeled motor sport, including seven Motorcycle World Championship titles, culminating in the unique achievement of being the only man to win both a Motorcycle World Championship and a Formula One World Championship." | [51] |
| 2013 ‡ | | Allan McNish | GBR | "First Briton to win the Tourist Trophy, the Le Mans 24 Hours and the FIA World Endurance Championship in the same season." | [52] |
| 2014 | No award | [5] | |||
| 2015 |  | John McGuinness | GBR | "For his outstanding contribution to motorcycle road and circuit racing, including setting the outright lap record at the 2015 Isle of Man TT." | [15] |
| 2016 | No award | [5] | |||
| 2017 | Sam Sunderland | GBR | "For being the first Briton to win a Dakar Rally crown by winning the motorcycle category in 2017." | [53] | |
| 2018 ‡ | – | Billy Monger | GBR | "For demonstrating exceptional courage and determination after great adversity and returning to high levels of motorsport." | [9] |
| 2019 | No award | [5] | |||
| 2020 ‡ |  | James Ketchell | GBR | "For becoming the first person to perform an around-the-world gyroplane flight certified by the Guinness Book of Records." | [54] |
| 2021 | Robin Shute | GBR | "The Royal Automobile Club has presented the 2021 Segrave Trophy to Pikes Peak hero Robin Shute for being the only British Driver to have won Pikes Peak Overall" | [55] | |
| 2022 | Zara Rutherford and Mack Rutherford | GBR | "The Royal Automobile Club has presented the 2022 Segrave Trophy to youngest solo circumnavigation pilots Zara Rutherford and Mack Rutherford as respectively youngest woman and youngest person to have completed the feat." | ||
At the time of winning, the Australians Kingsford Smith and Hinkler, and New Zealander Batten, were also considered British subjects. New Zealander McLaren's award was after New Zealand's Citizenship Act of 1948 but he was recognised as his McLaren team was British-based.
See also
References
Further reading
- Drackett, Phil (1990). They Call It Courage: The Story of the Segrave Trophy. London: Robert Hale. ISBN 978-0-7090-4028-6.